Hi,
My name is Lindsey. I'm 29 and have a venous malformation in my lower left leg to my toes. I just had my first embolization treatment with Dr. Yakes on May 27th. I didn't do any research on this treatment before I jumped in. I was given a good amount of information but I don't remember anything being said about possible nerve damage, maybe it was mentioned but just too much information to retain at one time. Anyway, I'm experiencing ALOT of pain on top of my foot and even more on top of my big toe, the major parts they treated during the procedure. When I touch the inside of my foot, it feels tingly and numbish. Maybe I'm expecting too much too soon? I'm still limping around and have to elevate my foot (even a couple seconds helps) and keep my leg/foot at a 90 degree angle. If I straighten my foot, it feels like it just fills with blood and gets "tight" which causes the worst pain. My next treatment is in late July. I want to know of embolization treatment in the foot and how much pain post-procedure and when *crossing fingers* it might go away.

Have you called Dr Yakes' office to find out when you should worry? I don't know if you are expecting too much too soon... others will post soon and offer their experiences. In the meantime, try to get in touch with his office and find out if you need a followup sooner than was scheduled.

As a matter of fact, I left a voicemail this morning for Dr. Yakes' PA and she called me back while I was writing the initial post. She told me to give it time and sent a prescription for more vicodin. She said nothing about the tingling and numbness. I'm now worried about nerve damage and wondering if I should continue with my treatment. I was very active (running up to 10 miles a week despite the veins being engorged) just before my surgery, now I'm a slow mover. I pray the pain goes away and isn't permanent. I'd like to hear of a success story, please. I'm second-guessing my choice to go through with the embolization to begin with, nothing I can do about it now though. Give me hope and send your success stories with VM of the foot. Thank you. :-\

I agree, Dr. Yakes does have a great staff. He's very personable himself. I don't have a follow-up scheduled with his office. I was given instructions to follow-up with my regular doc, not that my regular doc knows anything about the condition to begin with. I'm scheduled to go back for the second treatment on July 23rd. The pain is a hair more tolerable today, about a 7.

I'm 23 and have an AVM on my lower left leg as well, just above my ankle. I went to Dr. Rosen's office in NY three years ago and had 3 embolizations over the course of about 7 months. The area around the AVM was swollen and there was a large swollen vein going from the AVM up to my knee. I was a very active person, including running cross country and track (up to 60 miles a week) in both high school and college (I was a sophomore in college when I had the procedures.) After my first procedure, Dr. Rosen told me I could resume normal activity within 3 days, if I felt up to it. After the procedure, it took a solid 2 weeks before I could walk without limbing, and put pressure on my foot without it feeling like my foot was just filling with blood. Forget about running and doing anything like that. It was scary and frustrating because I had never been injured before, so it was very new to me. They just told me to be patient and to keep walking around so that it would feel better (I did ZERO walking around in the hospital after the embolization.) My next procedure was 2 months later, and I was up walking with zero pain immediately after getting to my recovery room. I was absolutely fine with that one. I think the reason the first one took so long was because they worked on the majority of the AVM at that time, and I was nervous to try to do too much at once because i didn't know what it should feel like. Don't panic if it takes a little longer for you to recover. I know it's not at all a good feeling, and I remember thinking I had to keep my foot elevated too. Just go for short walks or put your foot down for little periods of time and it'll get better soon (my parents were always on me to walk and to lower my leg, even when I didn't want to. Trust me, it helps in the long run!) And the next procedure will most likely be a lot better for you -- my second and third ones were a breeze after getting through the first one!

I hope this was somewhat helpful for you! You aren't alone! Hang in there-- you'll get through it just fine! Hope it's a speedy recovery from here! Good luck with everything.

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